I Love Archery
My name is Jenna Heil. I am 11 years old and I love to shoot archery and here is my story.
First Shoot at Ojibwa Bowhunters in New Berlin
It all started one summer in 2010 when I went to the state fair and shot for the first time at the NASP booth. On my third arrow I got a bullseye and I have been hooked ever since. I begged my mom and dad to take me again until they finally gave in. We went shooting and rented a bow a few times in 2011. Then we found out about a kid’s league at Whale Tails Archery, they had there on Saturdays so we signed up. We started at 10 yards and moved to 15 yards after getting enough points. After the 4th week and continually getting better and better my dad decided to get me a bow of my own. We tried out a few and decided on the Hoyt Ruckus. It is a perfect bow for a growing archer. The draw length and poundage can be adjusted without putting it in a bow press which makes it easy to set up as I grow. Once I got my own bow my scores went up consistently each week. I passed the 20 yard mark and wanted to keep going. I found myself shooting as much as I could. My arms and shoulders were hurting so much at first that I wanted to shoot every day but I couldn’t because of the pain, so I shot whenever I could.
Soon I got my first taste of competition. There was a kid’s championship tournament at Whale Tails and I entered it not knowing what to expect. After the nerves settled and I began to shoot I was doing pretty well. My dad told me not to worry it was just for fun! I am glad he reminded me of that. There were about 35 kids who shot that day and I ended up taking 1st place. The feeling was indescribable. I was so proud of myself and how far I have come from that first time I shot. The championship shot was a combination 3D animals and target faces. That gave me a taste of what the 3D shots would be like and I began to get interested in that.
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| Jenna Heil’s First competition. Whale tales archery kids tournament, 1st place March 2012, With Roxann and Tom Krischan, owners and instructors. | 5 in the x ring great shot!! |
It was now summer of 2012 and the outdoor 3D tournaments were starting. They are almost every weekend somewhere in the state. We went online and searched out ones that were coming up and that summer we went to 5 different shoots; two at Buck trails, Watertown, Ojibwa, and Hartford Gun Club. At all the shoots I took 1st place. This gave me a great boost of confidence in my shooting ability.
I continued to shoot 3 to 5 days a week to try to keep improving my form. I guess all the practice paid off because this year I was asked to become part of the Whale Tails Archery Prostaff shooting team. This means that I represent and shoot for Whale Tails and that is a big big honor for me. As part of being on the prostaff I work at the Saturday kid’s league, and help out with birthday parties and kids events. Sometimes I even get to help the guys in the shop.
As fall approached and cold weather came the focus turned to indoor 5 spot. As an 11 year old I will be shooting in the cub division this year which is at 10 yards. I started getting ready for this part of the season and began practicing at a 5 spot target. Whale Tails had a 5 spot league that I got into for a 6 week session and ended up taking 1st place for my age group. At my first indoor 5 spot shoot at Buck Trails archery club I went with Whale Tails Pro staff and ended up shooting a 299 with 34X out of 300-60x. Now all my attention was focused on the state NFAA state tournament which was February 16th and 17th in Wisconsin Rapids. I took 2nd place with a 586 60x. The next weekend was the Great Lakes sectional shoot. It included competition from 5 states. I shot against other cubs in my age group. I shot a 596 79x which was good enough for a 2nd place. I was proud of how I shot and looking forward to next year!
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| WAA state shoot. Wisconsin Rapids, February 16-17 2013. | 5 in the x ring Beloit archers feb 22-23, 5 state mail in tournament Wi.,IL.,MN.,MI.,OH. |
For my practice routine I do a lot of blank bailing. This is setting a bale up 6-8 yards away and just practice my shooting, concentrating on my form and release; never worrying about hitting the bullseye. With good form and a consistent shooting routine the bull eyes will come. You have to believe in yourself. Every once in awhile I will set a 5 spot target up just to see how I am doing. The key is to have fun with it. You can also play games as you practice like cricket or around the world. This will always sharpen your skills. As you go through your practice routine it is about quality shots, not quantity. I would rather shoot 20 good shots then shoot 60 bad ones just to shoot. During your practice sessions you need to make all your shots the same.
Good form and clean release. I have a shot process that I follow every time. It goes like this.
- Get your stance set feet shoulder width apart
- Put your arrow into the bow
- Set or hook your release on and put a little tension on the grip
- Get your grip set resting on your palm muscle
- Draw the bow back keeping your arm straight
- Set your anchor point with kisser button
- Look thru the sight find the pin and settle it in on the spot
- Once the pin is settle in slowly release the arrow (remember don’t punch your release)
- Follow thru and watch the arrow hit the spot
Starting a routine and keeping it the same has really helped my archery and improved my shooting. I always try to keep it fun. Sometimes it just doesn’t feel right or I start to shoot and I just don’t feel like shooting that day. When that happens I just stop because it becomes not fun!
Over the last year and a half archery has changed my life. It is something I look forward to doing as much as I can. I like competing in competitions and shooting as well as I can. I love when you can hit the spot you aim for time after time. I like going to the archery shop to listen and watch other shooters. Basically I can’t get enough. “I love Archery”
Here is the bow set up I use now:
- Hoyt Ruckus 30lb - 23 in draw
- Trophy taker drop away rest
- Sure-loc 550 supreme sight
- Viper scope 0.19 pin with 4x lenses
- Specialty super peep 1X
- Carter fits me too release with D loop
- Carbon express X Buster arrows 700 spine, 120 grain tips
- Blazer Vanes with 6` helical
- Donker Alumi-Komp stabilizer 30 “ front bar and 10 “side bar"
2012 archery season
March - Kids Championship shoot 1st place Whale Tales
July - Buck Trails 3Dshoot 1st place
July - Watertown Archers 3Dshoot 1st place
July - Ojibwa’s Founder day shoot 1st place
August - Buck Trail 3D shoot 1st place
August - Hartford Conservation and Gun Club 3D shoot 1st place
September - 5spot league at Whale Tales 1st place
November- Cancer shoot Whale Tales 1st place
December- Buck Trails 5 spot shoot 297 38X
2013 Archery Season
February - WAA State Tournament Wisconsin Rapids 586 60X 2nd place
February - Great Lake Sectionals 596 79X 2nd place